


Pasos de Cero

by dancingknives



Category: Elite (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:42:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25126426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingknives/pseuds/dancingknives
Summary: Yes this is named after Pasos de Cero, a really romantic song by Spanish singer Pablo Alborán. But no it's not romance. I don't ship this couple. But you can. Here's your backstory =) Also this was pounded at 2am, just to give it life. Will come back to it and edit the next day, sorry in advance for small mistakes
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Pasos de Cero

**Author's Note:**

> Yes this is named after Pasos de Cero, a really romantic song by Spanish singer Pablo Alborán. But no it's not romance. I don't ship this couple. But you can. Here's your backstory =) Also this was pounded at 2am, just to give it life. Will come back to it and edit the next day, sorry in advance for small mistakes

The server comes by to check up on him and collect the check. He realizes it's probably because the restaurant is clearly about to close and he should probably go. Still, it's so relaxing here he finds it hard to leave.

He's seated out on the tiny garden patio, only big enough for two tables, and the other had vacated quite some time ago. Though the entire outdoor space was smaller than his closet they made it work wonderfully. Mosaic tiling that matched the floor peeked out from behind the living walls adorned with plants. A small waterfall trickled gently, so as to not make it impossible to hear each other. Small candles warmly lit the space, but tonight the full moon was almost directly overhead and bathed the area in a soft glow. 

Beyond the open accordion doors, there was an open passage way to the restrooms and kitchen before the rest of the restaurant's indoor dining--where he could only see a few more people wrapping up their meals--lay. It really was a nice intimate setting they'd created.

He smiles at the server, "yes thank you again, the best tagine I've had in my entire trip, please give my regards to the chef." 

The server beams at him and turns to walk back inside. He continues sipping his mint tea. 

* * *

_"Joder"_

He turns when he hears the somewhat familiar voice saying it.

Nano walks over with a smirk, "bet you didn't expect me here, but in the chef's absence, I'll have to do."

Guzman is almost at a loss for words, "Nano, you work here?"

Nano shrugs, "yeah, many years now, sous chef actually, started as a cook."

Guzman smiles, "I'm happy for you, this was really great," he says, gesturing to his now cleared off table.

Nano nods, "thanks."

There's a moment of awkward silence. Just as Guzman opens his mouth though, Nano starts again as well, "well, it was good seeing you again."

"Nano, wait," Guzman interrupts before the other leaves.

Nano turns to him again. 

"Hey... listen," he begins, biting his lip. Suddenly Nano is very reminded of Samuel. Not at all what he expected from the hot headed rich brat he remembered.

"I know... I know I asked Samu to tell you already, but I'm sorry. For all the crap that I did to you." 

Nano chuckles. It was one thing hearing it through Samuel, but from Guzman's mouth. On a coincidental meeting like this. Where Guzman's actually looking downcast.

"Guzman," he says, waiting until the other is looking at him. He nods to the back, "listen I gotta help clean up. But I have the keys and am closing up tonight anyway. You want to hang out for a bit and talk?"

Guzman gives him a relieved smile, "yeah, yeah sure."

* * *

Nano brings with him two beers. They clink and then each take a long sip, mulling over exactly what to say. This is the first time they'e seen each other in person since Nano left Spain after the whole Marina incident. Sure Guzman's heard about Nano and Pilar from Samuel, but seeing is very different than hearing. Truly, Nano's entire demeanor now seems more relaxed, more open. The hard lines that prison seemed to draw over his face have dulled a bit, and he seems more eager to smile.

To Nano, Guzman looks like a normal person now. Superficially. He always thought when he was around Samu's other classmates he could smell the money and see the disdain. In the way they carried themselves, the way they dressed. This Guzman is wearing a simple linen shirt, well-suited to the hot Mediterranean summer. No fancy watch, no jewelry at all, really. Just a simple leather cord around his wrist. 

Once again they talk over each other.

"How is Samu?" Nano asks while Guzman questions, "how do you like it here?"

They grin. Nano nods and Guzman responds first, "good he's good. I saw him a few weeks ago before this trip. The new job is going well, he's really getting into it, being a law clerk."

Nano replies, "it's a busy world--well, I already told him, but you can remind him when you return that this year that we plan to stay home a little bit longer around the holidays, so he better make time for us," he nods at the restaurant around him, "I'm planning to leave actually. This place has been a really great way to get my start, but I think I'm going to strike out on my own again, and it'd be nice for Pilar and I to get some actual vacation time with Samu before that happens."

"What do you mean?"

Nano smiles, "I think I want to try to open my own spot. Tapas. Not so good the selection that is here." 

Guzman grins, "a taste of home?"

They clink to that. Nano tells him some ideas about the new spot. Some neighborhoods that it could be located in, a few of which Guzman hadn't visited yet, so Nano fills him up with places to go and things to see. Guzman actually takes a few notes on his phone. Nano tells him he wants to open not just a restaurant but more of an event space. For the local Spanish community. He has some money saved up from all these years, and Pilar will work as the front of house manager. He's already in contact with a local flamenco school about doing showcases there. Maybe once a week someone might come by to perform.

Guzman falls silent and sips his beer pensively.

"What's up?" Nano asks.

"Sorry, just... dancing. I was thinking about--"

"Marina," Nano finishes.

Guzman gives him a thin-lipped smile.

"We'd go on a special family vacation every year, you know. One where my parents promised not to do any work at all. The year before... everything, Marina and I had done our first solo trip, to England. She was so entranced by the architecture--guess that's where she became so enamoured by Oxford. That's where she wanted to go. And after that, she wanted to be a professional dancer," Guzman chuckles, "it doesn't really connect really well, but that's Marina. She... she made everything connect well and come together, you know?"

Nano swallows and nods. That's exactly Marina. Like a dancer she flowed between their worlds so perfectly. Never judging, never hating. She made friends easily. Maybe that's why both he and Samu fell for her so hard. 

"That's why I'm here, actually. Every year I take some time to travel by myself and reflect. It's always to places that we dreamed of going to as kids." Guzman stops there, his eyes glistening. 

Nano just looks at him, really looks, for maybe the first time not through a veil of judgment. 

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that," he says simply, "I realized I never said it to you."

"No, I'm pretty sure you did right before I fucked up your car," Guzman says guiltily.

Nano just shakes his head, "no I didn't. I said I didn't do it. But I never apologized for how you must've felt, how hard it must've been for you to go through that, at that age."

Guzman is surprised. There's a nuance there that speaks volumes of how Nano's matured over the years. He's not sure what to respond to that, so just thanks Nano, who nods back graciously in return.

* * *

They stay for a few more rounds of beer. Nano asks about Samu's girlfriend, who he's only heard about by phone but never met in person.

Guzman rolls his eyes, "oh wow, well she's quite the upstart."

Nano chuckles, "oh?"

"She really keeps Samu on his toes. Really. She's got like...," he pauses trying to draw out familiar analogies, "this hyperactive energy about her, kind of like Lu. But not bad, she's not... bitchy, but just always going, always out there. It's good actually, Samu needs to be a little more out there, sometimes you know he can be too introverted for his own good. Especially with the job, and his own ambitions."

Guzman is currently single. Nano asks if he'd ever dated Nadia seriously. They had after she returned from New York. But still, the differences in their families made it a consistent challenge. Especially since, and Nano was real surprised by this, Guzman's father and Carla's father had actually been indicted for fraud and were serving time. There was a whole media explosion around it (which really displeased Nadia's parents). Nano tells him he doesn't read much of Spanish news as Guzman laughs. The kids made it out relatively unscathed. Carla's mother, and so therefore Carla, lost the marchioness title. But if anything, it actually made Carla feel better, to lose the anchor that had defined her for so long. Instead, she got to keep the winery which she kept building into a solid local brand. Guzman at that point had already been largely independent from his parents. Their relationship never returned to normal after Marina since he blamed their pushing her away as part of the network of actions that led to her demise.

Nano tells Guzman in turn that Christian made a full recovery, and was currently working as a soccer instructor in Switzerland. Which is good because the truth never came out there. Guzman's out of the drama for his own good and Nano was never really deep it in anyway. Carla's father's already behind bars, and will never have that kind of power and influence again, while Carla has shown herself to be the complete opposite, giving vast amounts of her time and money to charitable causes close to home. Perhaps atoning for her own actions in the past.

Neither of them know very much about Nadia and Lu. Guzman especially hadn't talked to Lu in a very long time. Last he'd heard from Nadia, who was probably the only one who kept in contact with her, she was exploring the world of acting in her native Mexico. Nadia, by the way, was following a different path than the diplomatic one she'd once been interested in in school. Instead, she'd returned to Mexico after school with a zeal for science, and was currently working on a biotechnology PhD. Omar and Ander seemed to perpetually be on-again, off-again. Guzman couldn't track where it was now. Incidentally, he admitted to Nano that the only person he actually kept in relative frequent touch with was Samu.

"You know, I always wondered, why did you believe him?" Nano asks.

Guzman sighs. "It surprised me too. It was hard." He pauses for another drink, "but you know, I realized Samu had no reason to lie to me."

Guzman learns that Nano is close to being engaged. Someone he met online who was learning Spanish, while he was learning French. They bonded over languages and bumbling through a mix of Franish together, and there it was. Nano even talked about some engagement ideas while Guzman gave helpful hints, until he threw up his hands and said, _don't listen to anything I say, I'm the single one_. Close to midnight and after they'd both finished their last beer, Nano gestures that he probably should head back home. Guzman agrees and pulls out some cash to pay for the beers.

"No, my treat," Nano grins, "after you tipped Hassan like that? A few beers is not a problem."

Guzman smiles, "well what about the car then?"

They both laugh.

"But you know, seriously Nano, when you have the place nailed down for your new restaurant, I want to help," Guzman says earnestly.

"I work in banking, all I do is help other people make money, not spend it. So it'd be nice to know that at least the money I make is being spent on something meaningful."

Nano looks modest at that, "thank you, Guzman."

* * *

Guzman takes their beers and pops them into the recycling bin while Nano busses their table. Guzman offers to drive Nano back but he has his bike in the back that he needs to bring home anyway since tomorrow is a Saturday and he'll be using it over the weekend. He and his girlfriend are taking a quick weekend trip to sightsee and giving Pilar a well-deserved break.

Nano turns off the lights, locks the door. The two men smile and shake hands goodbye. Nano is walking away toward the garage when Guzman calls out again, "hey, wait."

He turns around. The blond hesitates for a moment. Nano can see him making up his mind about something. 

"You, uh... you told my mother once, the last time she saw you... you gave her Marina's ticket to the clinic, the only thing you had." Guzman almost stammers his way through the sentence. 

Nano nods at the memory. It wasn't painful anymore, just sad. 

"It was my way of trying to apologize back then, but it was still pretty defensive," he says.

Guzman walks over to him, pulling the leather cord off his wrist and handing it to Nano, "here."

Nano takes it and upon closer inspection sees that it's not just a simple leather cord. It's a few leather cords that have been braided together.

"Marina made that and wore it to an event where our parents had specifically requested she not look like a rebellious punk," Guzman explains.

They both laugh at that, that was just so _like_ her.

"You should have it. I still have boxes of her stuff at home. I want you to have something real, too."

For the first time Nano's eyes glisten as well. She would always be special to him. She was his first, real love, messy and complicated though it was, it was also pure. Through the years at various points he's thought about what became of his life. Here, in Morocco, living with his mom and with a happy girlfriend who worked as a teacher at a local school. This was the simple, boring life they'd wanted. He hopes it makes her happy.

"Thank you," Nano says as he clasps Guzman's hand and pulls him in for a hug.

" _De nada_ ," Guzman responds softly. As he walks back to his car, he feels an entire freshness about him. He actually thinks about Polo. He hadn't been able to forgive him, truly--even in that last moment, he'd just said what he said because he knew it was what was needed. He thinks, though, about that last question that Polo had asked of him. He realizes that yes, he could forgive. That forgiveness isn't a moment, it's a journey. And that this--this chance encounter with Nano after all this time, puts him back on that path.


End file.
